What you NEED to know to end a fight quickly

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So, you have found yourself in a conflict. Prevention has failed and de-escalation or escape is out of the question.

You have been pushed, punched, grabbed or charged at. Maybe a weapon is pulled. What do you do?

You will have to act fast, because the chances of an undesirable outcome for you is increasing exponentially every second.

The longer you are fighting the more likely you are to get injured.

Therefore, every action you take should be aimed at ending the fight as quickly as possible. If at any stage during the conflict you find yourself free to run – take that opportunity and get out of there.

If you get free, and rather than leaving you choose to re-engage, then you are leaving yourself open to a further escalation of consequences (both physical and legal).

Perhaps you are grabbed and taken down, maybe a weapon is pulled in desperation or the attacker's friends see the conflict and rush to help their comrade.

Drop your ego and run.

However, if you are attacked you need to respond in kind. Realise that this may literally be a fight for your life.

You need to act. Violently.

Most people struggle with this. Even when being attacked, many feel unable or unwilling to respond in kind. But please remember, you are in a situation where avoidance, de-escalation and negotiation have all failed.

You are being attacked or assaulted and the situation is escalating. This is not the time for a philosophical debate on the merits of pacifism.

If you don’t fight back, you may die.

- During Conflict -

- Rely on your training
How you train how you will preform - use it. (read more on effective training)

- Attack hard and fast
Make every strike hard and fast. Continue striking relentlessly. You want to make the person feel overwhelmed by the flurry of damage being inflicted upon them. 

- Target anatomical weak points
Eyes, ears, nose, throat,  groin, knees and fingers are all good targets. Long hair can be pulled to create excellent leverage on the neck, and piercings can be pulled.

- Fight dirty
Yell, bite, punch, kick, pull and gouge. Use any items with you as make shift weapons.

- Don’t stop
Until you are away safely, DO NOT STOP. It is on you alone to give everything you can to get away from this person. If you give up, you’ve lost. Do anything you can to survive.

All bets are off if you are in a life or death situation. You can deal with the physical, legal and social ramifications after, once you are safe. Until that time, all that matters is getting to safety.

Remember,
Your safety is your responsibility and yours alone.

Zachary Phillips

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Zachary Phillips is an Australian born writer, podcaster, vlogger, school teacher, mental health advocate, motivational speaker and martial artist. He uses these platforms to promote mental health awareness, personal development and self-discovery.
Coming from a troubled past, he began writing as a form of therapy. After finding that sharing his story helped others to move on and heal, he decided to release his first book 'Under The Influence - Reclaiming My Childhood' to the public.
It provides a personal and brutally honest account of the destructive dynamic that a drug affected and mentally ill father can have on his child.
 Zachary gives us a sacred peek into his once shattered mind, teaching us that, even against all the odds, a broken mind can not only be healed, but can go on to flourish, inspiring others along the way.  - About Under The Influence 

"I hope that my work will help to reduce the stigma around mental illness and provide some guidance to those facing similar circumstances."

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